Auld Lang Syne
by Sturmtrupper
Summary: The end of a year approaches in Inkopolis, and a new year emerges. Inklings, Octolings, and various other species join together, as they mingle and socialize with one another as they spend time as friends. Laughter, good times, and happy moments are abound, but some think more deeply for companionship in the new year. (Just a standalone fic, nothing much. Happy New Year, everyone!)


**Auld Lang Syne**

 **DISCLAIMER!**

 **Splatoon is created by Nintendo, and is owned by Nintendo. I do not own Splatoon, nor do I use this fanfic as profit. I do not own the poems used therein as well.  
**

Twas a cold frosty night, in the city of Inkopolis. Many were cozied up in their households, great and small, of varying sizes. But it mattered not of what was on the outside, no. It were the people inside that were having a jolly time. But as of now, most of everyone in Inkopolis were gathered in Booyah Base, species of almost every known kind, even ones thought to be extinct, were celebrating amongst everyone. As the citizens mingled with one another, everyone was having a grand time, as the plaza was decorated with various trinkets and streamers, intricate designs of Inklings plastering paint and signs all over the place. But it was not the decorations nor the spirits of the people; it was for the dawning of the new year, its coming imminent as the countdown was nearing. Among these people, our familiar group of characters could be seen, laughing as the time goes by.

"Well...it's that time, isn't it? The eve of a new year. You know, in my world, this was called New Years' Eve." Adam chuckles to himself, surprised that Inklings celebrate such a thing.

"Well, what can we say? We celebrate Squidmas on this day too, you know! Two Hu-man holidays in one! What more could you ask?" Violet piped in.

"Well, after this, you're all heading towards my house, you guys. There, I'll explain a tradition of what our Hu-man world does. It's called the White Elephant. But first, to our very good health, you guys. Cheers!"

Voices rang out in cheer for their lives, before they all drank deep from their glasses, the cold weather doing little to dampen their spirits as they did.

"Oh, it's like tacks. Bro, serious though. What does your White Elephant mean in your world? It's gotta be interesting, for sure!" All eyes were on Adam as soon as Inker finished his sentence, all curious on what it is.

Adam caved in, seeing as his friends all wanted to know.

"Aw, alright you guys. So, basically what the White Elephant is, it's a gift exchange. See why those presents are piled up high? Well, Callie and Marie heard my idea, and decided to give it a go. It's almost beginning soon. Just wait a few minutes or so."

And so Adam pointed to the towering piles of gifts that were in the Squid Sisters' studio. The gifts reached high, enough to reach the ceiling of the studio, which left them with their jaws dropping. Adam smirked, even noticing that Violet went wide eyed at the whole event, before she went giddy, like a girl waiting for Squidmas. Well, not that it was already here.

"May I have your attention, please!" A voice rang out.

All eyes turned towards Callie, who stood on a built stage, a megaphone in her hands. Alongside her was Marie, who was dressed rather warmly, as she was cold. The two did their signature poses, before the audience before them applauded them.

"I'm Callie! And this is Marie, as you all know! Today, we are all gathered here to our Squidmas party! Thank you all for coming!" Callie heard the crowd go wild as she hears them shouting, cheering them for the party.

"But as you all know, Squidmas isn't just all about the gifts. Well, maybe a large part of it is to me, but Squidmas is all about spending time with the people you love and care about, and this is just the fun part of your night, everyone!" Callie then hugged Marie, who wasn't expecting it, to say the least. She buried her face in her hands, embarrassed that she was taken by surprise by Callie. She handed the megaphone to Marie, who took it with shaking hands.

"Well...everyone, thank you all. I truly am grateful that you all could join us. Let us open with our newest single, shall we?"

Adam chuckled at the self advertisement from Marie. He knew that the Squid Sisters were money grubbers, but this was a different time. The speakers began blasting the music, a somber melody playing as Marie started to sing in her own language.

" _Wow...all this time I've been here, and I still can't tell what they're saying. It sounds like gibberish to me still._ " Adam had all the time in the world, and yet he could never bring it upon himself to learn the language, even though he could understand someone when they were talking to him.

The song soon ended, and the Squid Sisters took a bow for their grand performance. Roses seemed to come from nowhere as the Squid Sisters took them gratefully, bowing once more as they stepped off the stage. They saw Adam and the others, and waved happily, walking over to them.

"That was great, you two! Though I gotta say...did you really have to advertise your songs that way?" Adam laughed his comment.

"Well, money has to come from somewhere, doesn't it? Gotta spend money to make money! But enough about that, what are you guys doing?" Callie said.

"Well...we were all thinking about doing a tradition of mine that my world used to do. It requires those towering gifts we all submitted to your studio."

Callie's eyes glinted at the word presents. She was never one to turn down a gift. Nodding, Callie led everyone past the throngs of fellow fans, ending up on the doorstep of the studio. Everyone walked in, relishing that the studio was heated, warming them all.

"Ahh...it's always good to be warm with everyone. Well, let me explain the tradition. First, I'll need everyone to sit in a circle. And I need some paper, a pen, and a hat." Adam instructed.

Everyone did as told, before Adam went through the back door, trying to find his supplies. He returned a moment later, having a pen and pad for his purpose. He counted the people in the room, making sure to double check.

"7...8...9… Wow, twelve people! Sweet! More than enough for this. And it makes it much more fun!" Adam's face had glee on it, anticipating the fun event they were to have. He wrote something on the paper pad, before he ripped a piece of paper off it; then ripping that paper into slips of paper, each written with a number, before putting it into his top hat. Adam passed the hat around, with everyone taking a slip of paper out, each written the numbers from one to twelve.

"Hey guys...you know what, let's call this the Yankee Squid Swap instead of White Elephant. Seems wise to fit it to your culture, right?" He proposed it, which everyone nodded agreement on, Marie taking mental note of it. A fun game dedicated to the Inklings' concept of Christmas. As they all had their slips taken out, Adam finally spoke.

"Alright guys, who's the first on their slip?"

Mio was first, raising her hand shyly as she let everyone know.

"Alright. Now, its pretty simple. All you have to do is take a gift from the pile you see there. I'll explain the other part later."

Mio nodded, getting up from her seat from the circle as she approached the towering gifts piled up high. Some seemed small and intricate, and some were huge boxes, messily wrapped in decorative paper. Mio couldn't decide on what to get, but soon decided on a fairly regular sized present. She rattled it around, hearing only tissue paper roll around, but the present itself felt heavy. She sat back down, before Maya put up her hand, being the second on her slip.

"Alright, so what happens now, is that Maya can choose whether to take Mio's gift, or take a gift from the pile. If she takes it from Mio, she gets to pick another one from the pile, and then it advances. So, what are you doing, Maya...?"

Maya immediately locked her eyes on the present, being elaborate, yet flashy at the same time. She kept making grabby motions, her face an evil grin as she approached Mio. She finally got her hands on the present, but was met with resistance as Mio struggled to wrestle it free from Maya's grip.

"But I want ittt! It's mineeeeee!" Maya screeched.

"Well, get your own! It's mine, and I'm not giving it, rules or not! Let go!" Mio countered.

Soon, the two were beginning to go into a cat fight, before Adam had to break it up, the two looking very roughed up as clothes were torn, stretched, and even stained with inknog. Maya stomped out of her seat, grabbing the nearest gift she could reach, which was incidentally, the biggest gift of all. She pouted, not happy that she didn't get her way.

"But I want it..." She grumbled.

She crossed her arms, her old personality coming back as she made a sad face. Inker saw this opportunity and seized it, before pulling out his pressurized air can and blaring it in a sad tune. Everyone laughed at the sudden break of atmosphere; Inker seemed funnier this time of year. He always did crack a joke or two when he thought it was best.

"Alright you two...settle the catfight between you two. Who's next? Whoever has the number 3 on their paper, they can go next."

Inker raised his hand up, before he stood up, his coat fluttering behind him as he walked to the pile of gifts. Adam noticed how Mio blushed at Inker's way of walking. Totally calm about everything, hands in his pockets as he walked, trying to think of what to choose. He picked a ornate gift, looking at it before he smiled goofily, and went back to his seat.

"Ok then. Number 4?"

"That would be me." Mina then stood up, grabbing the flashiest present she could, which happened to be the biggest present, even more so than Maya's. However, Mai was eyeing the present, and smirked, for she knew that bigger meant more to gloat on. She looked at her slip, seeing the number 5 on it, and smiled a little bit too much.

" _Oh this is rich. Looks like I win out with the rewards...sorry Mina, but I want THAT present._ " Mai thought evilly.

Mai stood up, heading towards the pile as she did, before thinking. She thought long and hard, until she turned around, making a beeline for Mina's present. She cackled at Mina's face of pure surprise, until she tried to lift the present.

"Ungh-?! What the…? How is this present so darn heavy?!" Mai tried with all her might, but it was naught, as she ran out of breath. Mina simply took the present with one hand, and plopped down by Mai's seat, the ground shaking as it landed, which everyone was surprised at. She stood up once more, before taking a slender box instead, feeling a hard surface as she took the present.

"O-okay...I don't want to get on her bad side, that's for sure…!" Adam said nervously.

"What's in that box that has to make it so heavy, man?!" Inker was flustered and curious to know what was in that box.

"Well, that'll have to wait, Inker. For now, who's number six? Who is number 6?" Adam said, trying to catch everyone's attention.

"That's me!" Marie now stood up, grabbing a present with squids on the wrapping paper, before she shook it, hearing cloth…? "Huh…? Clothes? Aw…" she seemed bummed out about the whole thing.

Callie didn't even say anything as she displayed her slip, a seven shown on it. She took a similar looking present as well, before she sat back down, but she took Marie's present instead, and swapped it with hers.

"Oh, Callie? That's not how it works. If YOU take Marie's present, then she gets to take one from the pile, so you'd-"

"No no! It's fine, besides, I want this one anyways. It's all right, really!" Marie kept defending herself, so Adam simply shrugged it off.

"Number 8?" Adam asked.

Eve stood up, proudly walking as she did. She took the three tier presents, each a smaller box as it went higher. "Hm. Fitting that this represents hierarchy of our species." She sat back down, her eyes gleaming at the present.

"And who's number Nein?" Adam waited for a response to his joke. He swore he could hear a sound outside, almost timed too well, as he heard the sound of a snare drum, and a cymbal as it made...badumtss. Everyone chose to laugh at that moment, not at Adam's joke, but at the well timed comedic relief.

"Alright alright...seriously, who's number 9?"

Leon stood this time, before walking to the remaining gifts, but pondering on what to take."...I can take ANY gift from this pile, right Adam?" Leon posed the question, to which Adam nodded. He then took a poorly wrapped gift, tape strewn all about as the wrapping was covered in newspapers with comics on it. He was intensely focused on it, reading it even as he walked to his seat, even reading it as he was sitting down on his chair.

"Okay then...number 10?"

Violet stood up this time. She took a moment to look at the gifts, before she looked at Adam, smiling warmly as she did. She thought about what to get, before she wanted to ask Adam something.

"Which one did you put in, Adam?" Violet asked, and Adam pointed, before he realized it was too late to take back what he said. He sweatdropped, before Violet took the one he pointed to, a rather small box, wrapped in red paper, almost like a jewelry box.

"I like this one, because you put it in, Adam…" she giggled at the line of reasoning, before she sat back down.

"Oh well…alright, who's next?"

Akane raised her hand, before she picked a set of gifts, each all varying in size and weight as she inspected it. She was certain one of them was a card for something, but for what?

"Hm. This is mysterious, so I like it."

"And last but not least… its time for my turn. What did you all leave me? It's...oh." Adam's face fell when he saw that there was nothing left, not even so much as a crumb for a mouse to eat on. Adam looked at his friends, confused that there was no present for him, thinking that someone perhaps accidentally took two presents instead of one. But it was not to be. Even the three tiered gifts were still counted as one, so Adam was indeed left with nothing.

"Oh well...ha-ha. Better luck next time, right…? I have next year, at least." Adam smiled, but everyone knew that there was a hint of sadness to his smile and voice, and yet, he was so persistent to be happy, no matter his circumstances.

"Uh, well...I guess I should explain the third part, huh? Alright, everyone, now what happens here is that the gifts you all have, you open them up, but in the order we went. So, Mio, that would be you first that opens your gift. Come on! Let's see what's inside." All eyes were on Mio's gift as she tore the wrapping paper apart, before she inspected the cardboard box that was before her. The top had a knob, before she pulled the lid off, the sides collapsing as she saw the contents. She gasped at the present that lay before her. The box contained a regal cloak, purple in color, but when she put it on, the cloak changes colors to her style, and everyone was in awe at the cloak. Inker seemed most shocked at the transformation of Mio when she out the cloak on.

"Whoa, Mio, bro! You look like a total princess, ha-ha!" Inker looked more closely at Mio's gift, which was rather thick, but yet it was light. Her glasses accentuated the princess look, and Inker felt a fuzzy feeling coming from his chest.

"Ah, that would be my cloak, Mio. I personally hand made that cloak myself, and it isn't just for looks. Put on the cowl. Go on, try! Oh, but do mind that it doesn't make you totally invisible. It only makes anything covered invisible to the naked eye." Eve seemed to be filled with glee as she put on the cowl, her body seemingly disappearing into thin air as she did.

"Whoa, it really works! Thank you very much, Eve." Mio bowed with what was left visible of her body, and took the cowl off, before Maya was practically bouncing up and down her seat, eager to open her large gift.

She shredded the gift with a frenzy, before looking at the new weapon before her. It was a Dynamo Roller, but seeing as Maya was still a little bit too young, the Roller towered over her, although she could use it, but with some difficulty.

"Oh, uh...hehe. That would be my gift. I'm a Roller user, so it made sense for me to make a custom Dynamo Roller. It's much more lightweight, and it can fill up your Inktank more quickly when you're out of ink. Very handy."

"Thank you so much! I love it, Inker!" Maya practically crushed Inker with her hug, before Inker returned the hug, laughing merrily as he did. When all was said and done, Inker opened his gift, taking his time to open the wrapping paper as he hummed one of the tunes from the Squid Sisters songs.

"Hey, that's one of our songs, isn't it?" Marie asked.

Inker stopped midway of his unwrapping, blushing as he nodded. "Well, what can I say? It's really catchy!" Inker chuckled, before he resumed unwrapping. His gift contained glasses from Cooler Heads, a new type of headgear. It was completely black, and it was pixel looking, but on the arms of the glasses, it read, "Deal with it." Inker seemed mesmerized by the glasses, before he put them on. Everyone thought that Inker's confidence rose through the roof for some reason when he out the glasses on, and Inker had a smile on his face.

"Okay, who's next to unwrap theirs?" Adam asked.

Mina started to unwrap hers, not caring in the slightest as she made short work of the wrapping. The slender box revealed a set of cookies and other assortments of treats, as her mouth started drooling at the sweets.

"Ooh, that would be mine! I hope you like sweets as much as I do, Mina… Merry Squidmas!" Maya had a strong sweet tooth, and always liked to share her sweets.

Mina couldn't respond as she was hypnotized on the sweets, as she caressed the lid of the box, tracing the outline as she did.

"Ok there gal...don't get too carried away. Now it's my turn!" Mai tore the wrapping paper of the box, before she was presented with another problem: the box was completely nailed shut.

"Um…any of you guys got a tool to open this thing or something?" Mai was stumped at how to open the wooden crate, before she resorted to brute strength to try and pry it open. She was successful...but only opening one of the panels. Adam decided to help the girl out with her crate.

"Mai, stand back. I'll open this in one move." Adam rolled up his sleeves, before he took a deep breath, focusing.

" **Ink...Punch!** " Adam's fist was now surrounded by a swirling black aura, almost fluid enough to be like ink. His fist contacted the wood, which shattered under his punch. The box contained a 50" Flatscreen TV, which Mai squealed in glee for. She was jumping up and down at her gift, and had to hug the person responsible for the gift.

"Alright, alright...I submitted the gift. Consider it a new toy for you." Akane spoke this time, as all eyes saw the girl smiling at Mai's happiness. She was immediately crushed in a tight hug from Mai as she kept thanking her.

"Now I can really experience playing Super Smash Bros in HD! Thank you so much!" Mai even went so far as to plant a kiss on Akane's check, which she blushed from.

"Well...think nothing of it! Just glad to see someone have a smile on their face." Akane said sincerely.

Marie unwrapped the gift she got. The present she got was a set of clothes, butler's outfits. She was confused for a second on who would have given it, but Leon decided to clear his throat, catching Marie's attention.

"You? You gifted this? I thought Adam would be the only one to gift this sort of thing." Marie certainly was surprised, to say the least. She looked at the butler's outfit; it certainly was very plain, only black and white, but there was a pocket watch with the clothes.

"Yeah, I like formal wear at this time of year. I don't know why. Enjoy it though, I personally picked those out." Leon smiled warmly at Marie, who seemed to appreciate the gift.

"Hey, actually...since there's three outfits…why don't you, me, and Adam wear these tonight?" Marie pointed to Callie and Adam, who were both very intrigued by the very idea.

"Eh, sure! Why not. It's Squidmas. I'll wear it, besides, I do appreciate pocket watches!" Adam stood up, before he felt himself being dragged by Callie and Marie, who were smiling evilly. Adam soon realized that he was too late to say anything else, and had been taken away by the two evil Sisters.

"Noo...I'm being taken away...Ahhh...help me, please…" Adam said in a mock voice. You could almost hear the apathy in his voice.

"Just continue without me, besides, who's next can go!" That was the last thing Adam said before he was dragged to a changing room.

"Alright, let's change, shall we? Marie, give me one of the outfits." Callie simply started to undress in front of Adam, who backed up against the wall as soon as she started to undress.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa! Hey, you do realize I'm here, right?! Wha-! MARIE! NOT YOU TOO?!" Adam was now almost bleeding fast enough from his nose for it to be a waterfall, but Callie simply wiped the blood off, caressing his cheeks as she did.

"Well...we trust you, don't we, Marie? Besides,Adam...I don't mind if it's with you…" Callie trailed off, making sure to look cute in front of Adam.

Meanwhile, Violet was worried about Adam's condition as he heard muffled cries from the change room, as she felt herself becoming more and more worried by the minute. She swore she could hear Adam crying out for help, trying to defend himself from being caught by Callie.

"H-Hey! Don't touch me! What are-no! Stop!" Adam yelled enough to catch everyone's attention in the other room, and Violet decided to put her head on the wall, try to hear what was going on. She was confused for a moment, before she could hear moaning inside the room.

" _No...he didn't! Oh my gosh...did he…?_ " Violet was silent, as she heard more grunts from the inside of the changing room.

Inside the room, Adam was groaning from having to carry Callie and Marie piggyback on him as he tried to buck the Squid Sisters off himself. He finally did, but he was breathing hard from the sudden carry.

"You've...gotta...stop doing that…" Adam huffed.

Callie and Marie only laughed at their worn out friend, who wasn't dressed yet. Callie extended a hand, trying to help Adam. He took it, but she tripped, landing on Adam. Another exchange of cries and tells continued, until, all was silent...until the door unlocked. Out came three people, clad in black and white, dressed quite sharp for the evening. However, Adam's clothes were ruffled, and his hair was a mess.

"Don't ask…" Adam glared at everyone, who all nodded in agreement to never speak of the incident again.

"Wow, we all look like Secret Agents or Defence Attorneys! Hey girls, let's strike a pose, for a memorable moment, huh?" Adam tossed his I-Squid to Violet, who took it, but she was clearly miffed at the sight. She aimed the camera, but she only aimed at Adam's smiling face, blushing madly as she took a photo of his face only. "Ok, strike your pose, you guys."

Adam chose his stance of when he was in court. Boldly pointing his finger, Callie and Marie did the same, all of them posing as if they were the very image of justice. Feeling confident, Adam decided to speak.

"Objection!" Adam yelled.

Unknowingly, Marie set the cameras in the studio to take a recording of the three, broadcasting the picture across the city. All heads outside turned to the picture of Adam, Callie, and Marie, with the caption: We can do it! The three then laughed merrily, before Adam nodded towards Callie to open her present, which she did happily. Her present was similar to Marie's, so she got a set of clothes, the same from Leon.

"Alrighty...number 8? Let's see what ya got." Adam says.

Eve opened her three tiered gift, revealing the contents. The bottom one was a holster for a pistol of some sort, the second gift revealing to be a watch, the very same as Adam's, but it was tweaked a little bit to represent an octopus. The last gift, being small, was simply just a pouch of coins, totalling to 5000 coins. No small amount of coins, for such a small gift.

"Well! This is quite the surprise! Who gifted this? I'm quite appreciative of it. I wanted a holster for my weapon. I thank whoever did this." She said.

This time, it was Violet who answered. "Well, thank you very much. I do appreciate people liking my gifts! Merry Squidmas, Eve." Violet smiled at Eve, her cheery attitude making everyone smile wide in the good times.

Leon was next to unwrap his...present, to say the least. For a large gift that was wrapped poorly, the gift itself was quite valuable, for it contained a newer model of the next Generation Inktank. A GenTank.

"Wha-?! These are quite expensive, and they aren't easy to come by! Who gifted THIS one?" Leon was baffled at the sight before him. He was not one to receive such a invaluable gift that would serve him well.

"Eh, hard for the public. It's easy for celebrities like us. It comes in truckloads, so have one on us! It's supposedly lighter than the last generation of the Inktanks, and it holds more ink and refills faster too." Marie said casually, which Adam raised an eyebrow at.

Leon had his jaw wide open, before Inker had to help him out by shutting Leon's jaw, and he could speak. "Well. Thank you very much! I cannot ever possibly repay you for this gift!" Leon bowed to Marie, who simply giggled at the mannerisms of the Inkling boy before her.

"Well. Who's next?" Adam speaks, getting everyone back on track.

Violet tapped Adam's shoulder, before she started to tear the red wrapping on the box, and found herself squealing in delight of Adam's gift. What Adam brought was not a piece of equipment or food. No, he chose to bring a necklace for Violet, which she took happily.

"Oh my gosh! A crystal necklace! Oh, thank you, Adam! I love it!" Violet seemed ecstatic about the gift, and couldn't wait to put it on. However, she had some difficulty, as she couldn't get the clip on correctly, before she looked at Adam for help, with a mock sad face. He laughed, before helping Violet out. All the while, Violet was over the moon about Adam's gift.

"Alright...and there we go. Just let me straighten it. Face towards me, please." Adam instructed.

She did as told, before looking more closely at Adam than before. His face was gleaming with a smile, his azure blue eyes ever more enchanting than usual, as his hairbangs covered part of his face, but enough to make him seem caring.

" _His face...he grew more handsome. He really is cute, after all...I'm glad I got to know him personally. All alone at the beginning, with nobody to love or care for him...I have to change all that._ " Unknowingly, she had began to tear up from thinking all the hard times Adam had to face by himself. All alone as a kid. With no friends. All that changed as soon as Adam met Violet. But Adam was thinking along the same lines as well.

" _Violet...I wish I could have met you sooner. I just can't bring myself to say I love you as much as I could._ " Adam saw the tears emerge from Violet's eyes, and wiped them away.

"Don't cry, Violet...please, it's a time to be happy, to spend time with...family…" Adam trailed off at the last word. Family. He never had one.

Violet wasn't crying because of the gift, but for Adam, who had to face the world alone. Tackling him in a big hug, Violet then looked up at Adam, who was smiling warmly at her, before she kissed him on the lips. Inker chose this time to cheer him on, and soon everyone joined in, commenting them.

"I'll be there for you, Adam...I will be part of your family. Take care of me, and…" Violet came close to Adam's ear, a whisper escaping her lips.

"Be gentle with me, alright…?" Violet giggled, before skipping back to her seat, leaving Adam shocked at Violet's comment.

" _Did...did she just…?! No! No way!_ " Adam's mind was working overdrive to process the comment she just made, which Adam failed, before slumping. Akane had to slap Adam in the face to wake him up, and all was well.

"Well, uh...who's next…?" Adam was still dumbstruck from the comment, but Akane let it slide, knowing Violet probably just offered Adam something sacred.

She took the set of gifts, each looking like cards. She unwrapped one precariously, before realizing they were all pre-paid cards, each having more money in them than the last. They totalled to five, where it totalled more than 50,000 coins. Quite a lot.

"Merry Squidmas! I like shopping, so maybe you'd like some free coins, hehe...we're celebrities anyways. We got LOTS more where that came from." Callie smiled at the girl, who just simply chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief of the gift.

"And last, but not least...oh. Me." Adam was at a loss. He didn't have a gift, so he simply sat there, looking at the center if there was any gifts left. No such luck.

Adam simply sighed, before his face fell. He knew he would be disappointed, so he didn't do much about it. However, to others, it looked as if Adam was about to silently cry, which he did.

"Whoa! Bro…?" Inker was the first one to say anything. Adam still went silent.

"Hm? Ah, I'm fine...there's next year, right…?" Adam smiled, but the tears still fell, everyone feeling sad for their friend who missed out on Squidmas. "Guess Mother Squidmas put me on the Naughty List...oh well."

"Adam...please, don't cry!" Violet was scared from Adam's sudden change in manner. He simply looked at her, only smiling still.

"I'm not crying, Violet...I don't cry." Adam simply said.

Everyone was surprised, and could do nothing for a moment, but to them, it felt as if an eternity was lasting. Adam sighed, before standing up, and walking out the door.

All was silent. Not even the ambient sounds could pierce the silence, until Adam outside started to sing.

 _Should old acquaintances be forgotten,_

 _And never brought to mind?_

 _Should old acquaintances be forgotten,_

 _And days of long ago!_

Everyone stood up, before Callie took a microphone with her, everyone standing tall with Adam as he tried to muster the words to sing. He took the microphone, before putting it global, ready to sing with his friends. He looked back at them, before smiling.

 _For times gone by, my dear,_

 _For times gone by,_

 _We'll take a cup of kindness yet_

 _For times gone by._

Everyone's voices rang clear across the city, voices that would catch everyone's attention as Inklings and all others across the city looked to various screens, looking at the group in front of the Squid Sisters studio, who were singing.

 _We two have run about the hillsides_

 _And pulled the daisies fine,_

 _But we have wondered many a weary foot_

 _For times gone by._

Everyone seemed to sense the solemn moment of Squidmas, and all people listening in were bowing their heads in silence.

 _We two have paddled in the stream_

 _From noon until dinner time,_

 _But seas between us broad have roared_

 _Since times gone by._

Adam wasn't crying anymore, for he knew, that as long as he still had breath in his body, and Violet by his side, he knew that he could care for everyone around him, and know love.

 _And there is a hand, my trusty friend,_

 _And give us a hand of yours,_

 _And we will take a goodwill drink of ale_

 _For times gone by_!

 _And surely you will pay for your pint_

 _And surely I will pay for mine!_

 _And we will take a cup of kindness yet_

 _For times gone by_!

 _Should old acquaintances be forgotten,_

 _And never brought to mind?_

 _Should old acquaintances be forgotten,_

 _For times...gone by!_

The group hummed, a solemn tune as they ended the song, before bowing in silence. Silence still roamed, until Adam clapped, everyone following suit as he applauded everyone around him.

" _This...this is my gift. I couldn't ask for more than this...thank you, everyone._ " Adam thought.

He turned around, looking straight at Violet, who was clapping along with everyone, until Adam pulled her tightly, hugging her to him as he embraced her in his arms. She returned the hug, knowing that Adam just needed a friend, someone to care for.

Adam pulled away, before giving the microphone to Callie.

"Well, thank you, everyone, for joining us. Stay fresh, and, for this day, everyone…" Callie and Marie huddled everyone close to the microphone, in which, everyone knew what to say.

"MERRY SQUIDMAS, AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Everyone smiled for the camera that Callie took, and there, their happiness was immortalized, clear for all to see.

* * *

And there you have it. Just something for the New Year, even though I'm late for that, heh. Happy New Year, everyone, from a fellow Canadian.

-Sturmtrupper


End file.
